Stocks jumped Wednesday amid indications that lawmakers in Washington were finally nearing a resolution to the ongoing government shutdown and the looming need for a debt-ceiling increase.
Markets opened strong and climbed higher when Senate leaders announced a bipartisan compromise early Wednesday afternoon. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 176 points at about 1:10 p.m., a gain of 1.16 percent on the day. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq saw similar gains.
Reports swirled Wednesday morning that House Republican leaders will likely allow a vote on a Senate compromise to end the weeks-long standoff after resiting on Tuesday. Market futures were already up before trading opening in the U.S. on Wednesday, after Senate leaders were nearing a deal late Tuesday night. That followed a warning from a major credit rating firm that the U.S. faces a possible debt downgrade if the debt-limit deadline on Thursday is passed without an increase.